Fountain brush



Feb. 12, 1929. 1,701,795

J. H. PlTTs FOUNTAIN BRUSH Filed Dec'. 21. 1927 Gum/wwf Patented Feb. l2, 1929.

unirse sg'rnres J'GI-IN H. PITTS, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

FOUNTAIN BRUSH.

Application filed Eecember 21, 1927. Serial No. 241,623.

rlhis invention is a fountain brush intended more particularly for use in cleaning and polishing automobile bodies and parts although it may, of course, be advantageously employed in other Atields. rlhe object of the invention is to provide a compact arrangement whereby a supply of liquid polish inay be maintained. in proximity to the brush and the liow ot' the saine to the brush controlled easily by the operator, and also to provide ineans whereby the liquid polish will be positively lied to the brush as the latter rotates and so distributed over the tufts of the brush as to be electually applied to the surface to be polished without being thrown out over adjacent objects by centrifugal action. pear incidentally in the course of the Jiollowing description, and the invention resides in certain novel features which will be particularly delined in the appended claiins. A

ln the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of a brush and tank embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of thesaine;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3--3 of' Fig. 2, and f Fig. 1l is a detail showing an alternative torni of valve.

ln carrying out the invention, there is provided a tank 1 which may be of any approved construction and is preferably cast ot' aluminum so as to avoid unnecessary weight. 'lhis tank is provided with a tilling opening in its top which is normally closed by a plug` 2, as will be understood. Adjacent one end of the tank, there is erected ther lin a barrel or cylinder 3 in which is mounted a plunger ll having a stein 5 ris-- ingr therefrom through the top oit the tank and operatively connected with a finger lever (i fulcriuned between .its ends on the top o'f the tank. A spring 7 is disposed within the barrel or cylinder 3V between the top thereot and the upper end of theV plunger valve el. so that the plunger is normally held at the bottoni of the barrel to out olf tlow ot liquid therethrough, the barrel being provided with a port 8 at its lower end whereby the liquid, indicated at 9,v within the tank may pass out to be 'fed to the brush. A slight pressure upon the free end otthe Enger lever G will rook the lever and lift the plunger valve l so that the port 8 will e uncovered and a portion of the liquid Other objects will ap-V niay escape. rllhe tank is constructed in two similar ineinbers bolted together with packing in the joint and, inits lower portion, defines a cylindrical body 9 through which a shaft l() extends, the forward portion of said shaft being hollow, shown at 1l, and having a spiral convcyer wirev 12 disposed therein and extending axially to the end of the shalt, the shaft being provided with a radial port 13 to establish communication between the hollow portion 1l and an annular groove or. chamber 111- on the inner wall of the cylindrical bearing portionV E) of theV tank. Bearings 15, preferably of the friction roller type, are secured within the bearing portion il orr the tank around the shalt so that it may rotate freely, and stop collars 1.6 are also secured upon the shaft to bear annular shoulders formed in the cylinder 9, or against the ends of the cylinder, and thereby prevent endwise movement of the shalt, the result being that the port 13 will be maintained in alineinent with the barrel 3 and the annular chainber 14.

The tank is provided at one end with a nozzle 17 over which is fitted Aa sleeve i8 attached to one end of a flexible tubular housing 19 and within the coupling sleeve 18 the end of the shaft l0 is connected by a flexible coupling 20 with a flexible driving shat't 2l extending to a suitable motor. In

practice, l have employed an electric inoton to furnish the power for driving the bruslji shaft 10, and the liexible shaft 21 may be coupled directly to the end ot the motor or to the output shaft oit a train oit speed-reducing gears.

The brush,indicated at 22, may be secured directly on the hollow end ot the brush shait 10, but, as a matter of convenience, l iforin the hollow portion of the shaft in two sections which are joined by a coupling sleeve 23 in an obvious manner. The brush consists of ak plurality of circular sections 24 which may be of any suitable n'iaterial, such as cotton waste, soft textile fabric, 'telt or any other material which may be preferred. The several circular sections are secured upon the shaft by and betweenV collars 25, one of which forms an inner abutment for the brush while the others are provided with radial perforations 2G registering with corresponding perforations in the wall oi' the hollow shaltwhereby the liquid may escape from the shaft between adjacent sections and be applied to the sides of the several sections so that it will slowly percolate through and permeate the several sections and, consequently, will have but slight tendency to escapeforcibly through centrifugal action. rlhis result is also fur* thered by rotating the brush at a comparatively low speed. The outer extremity of the hollow shaft is closed, as shown at 27, and is externally threaded to receive a nut Q8 whereby the outermost section of the brush will be clamped against the outermost collar and the several sections eii'ectually held inclese compact form and will present practically an uninterrupted outer sur-face. The outermost section 29 of the brush is preferably of greater diameter' than the inner sections so that the brush may be operated around angles and small brackets which cannot be easily and satisfactorily treated by a brush having a uniform diameter from eno to end. he several brush sections are `made of a standard uniform thickness so that, when renewals are necessary, new sections may be secured in place and the outlets from the shaft will not be closed when the clamping collars are again turned home.

The use of the brush will, it is thought, be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing. rlhe tank is held by the operator so that the brush will be positioned in contact with the surface which is to be cleaned and polished and by occasionally opening the plunger valve Ll a sufiicient quantity of liquid will be permitted to flow to the brush to attain the desired application to the part upon which the brush is operating. The liquid will flow by gravity through theport 8 into the annular chamber ll and thence into the bore of the hollow shaft and, within said bore, will be positively fed to the brush by the screw conveyer l2. The device is coinpact, easily operated and has been found to be highly satisfactory in actual use.

The spiral conveyer may be conveniently formed by coiling a wire of proper gage and in such form has been found to be very eliicient in causing a positive flow of the liquid.

ln 4l, I have shown a form ot valve which eliminates the linger lever. In this form, the ialve 30. is in the form of a spool having its heads normally espectively above and below the port in the barrel. The valve stem projects through the top of the tank and is equipped with a cap or presser piece 3l, between which and the tank an expansion spring 32 is coiled around the stein. The spring` holds the valve raised and pressure is exerted on the cap 8l to lower the ve to open position Any convenient form of stop, as 33, may be provided to limit the movement of the valve under the influe-nce of the spring.

Having thus described the invention, l claim:

l. Apparatus for the purpose set forthy comprising a tank, a hollow shaft mounted on the tank and in communication therewith, the shaft being perforated adjacent its outer end, and a brush secured on the outer end of the shaft and consisting of a plurality of sections, and securing devices between the several sect-ions, said securing devices being perforated to register with the perforations in the shaft and permit flow of liquid from the shaft to the brush.

2. Apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a tank, a barrel within the tank having a port at its lower end, a hollow shaft mounted on the Vtank and in communication with the lower end of the barrel, a brush carried by said shaft, a plunger valve within the barrel, an 'expansion spring acting on the plunger to hold the saine normally in closed position, and means whereby the valve may be opened at will.

ln testimony whereof l alix my signature. 

